AI in Creative Industries

African filmmakers: We need to talk about AI 👽.  ⏱ While you’re spending hours in the edit suite, writing grant applications, or attending festivals, AI has already rewritten the script for the entire industry. The disruption isn't coming at some point in the vague future - it's already here. Yet, most filmmakers I meet on the continent are still treating AI as some distant Silicon Valley fantasy. The most common answer I get when I ask them what their AI strategy is? “At first I was scared, but now I use ChatGPT as my therapist.” That’s not good enough guys. 🚀 In the time that it took me to wrap my head around this post, we’ve gone from AI picturing me as a Black woman with 6 fingers to ChatGPT 4o Image Generator going viral over its perfect one-try Studio Ghibli rip-offs. This is what is happening to the film industry globally: 📝 Development can now be done in the blink of an eye: AI can produce storyboards, generate background scenes, and even draft scripts in seconds and at a fraction of traditional costs. ➡️ Your ideas are not ambitious enough (and this doesn’t mean that everyone should do superhero or epic films, dear god). 📉 Production costs are getting slashed: It doesn’t make sense anymore to raise funding for production studios in Lagos, Cape Town or Marrakech when AI is enabling creators to generate a complex historical scene from their home computer. ➡️ Your production budgets and cost structures are outdated. 🗣️Language barriers are dissolving: Seamless dubbing is now possible in minutes. The good news is, this will help your content travel across borders. But… ➡️ Businesses providing dubbing, subtitling and voice acting are dead. 🖥 Post-production has undergone a quantum shift: What used to take a team of highly skilled people weeks or even months can now be done by AI that color-grades, edits, creates sounds and even suggests scene adjustments overnight. ➡️ Editors, VFX supervisors, but also animators and game designers, your workflow is obsolete. Your job as you define it today probably is as well. AI is transforming African cinema before it even got its footing, and there is nothing we can do to stop this. The question is whether African filmmakers will guide this process or whether it will be driven by outside forces. The good news is that the same tools that major studios are using are freely available. They can be the greatest equalizers. But for this, you have to master them. Get it? ----- For more business insights on the African Creative and Sports space, subscribe to my monthly newsletter HUSTLE & FLOW: https://lnkd.in/drBY8jnz

The teen models in Mango's latest campaign have perfect poses, perfect lighting, and one small detail: they don't exist. This Spanish fashion giant launched their Sunset Dream collection using entirely AI-generated models across 95 markets. Not a single human model was photographed. Here's how they did it: 📌 Took photos of real clothes on display stands 📌 Fed these pictures to their AI system 📌 Created model images in minutes 📌 Rolled out everywhere at once The business impact is massive. Fashion brands typically save 60-80% by leveraging AI photoshoots. Those savings can now fund innovation, better pricing, or faster expansion. But cost isn't the real story here. Speed is. While competitors wait weeks for campaign photos, MANGO creates, tests, and launches collections in days. No weather delays. No scheduling conflicts. No reshoots. This wasn't luck. Since 2018, Mango has built 15 different AI platforms across their business. They've been preparing for this moment. The result? Their 2024 turnover reached 3.3 billion euros in 2024, growing 7.6% from 2023. What makes this significant is that Mango proved AI-generated content can drive real sales. Their teen customers embraced these virtual models without hesitation. Fashion's biggest players are watching. If Mango's approach succeeds long-term, traditional photography could become a thing of the past for e-commerce. The brands that adapt now will set industry standards. Those that don't might find themselves competing against companies moving at AI speed. Which fashion tradition do you think AI will disrupt next?

𝗥𝗧𝗟 𝘅 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲 - 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗩 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗩𝗥 & 𝗚𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗜! 🎥🦾 Lately, the buzz was all about the #Metaverse, now it's #GenAI. People are debating whether the Metaverse has faded, but the reality is that both are significant!! Instead of fixating on one, we should explore how #technologies can work together harmoniously. That’s my learning from the Deloitte x Bertelsmann event and Lara Genz's enlightening presentation from our Metaverse Lab. I now ask myself, what could the #future of #TV look like with these two technologies? ✔️ 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗩𝗥 𝗖𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮: Imagine stepping into a #virtual #cinema where AI tailors a movie or show selection just for you. You’ll enjoy this content in a virtual theater, redefining the way you experience entertainment. ✔️ 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗩𝗥 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀: Immerse yourself in interactive stories within virtual reality. #AI dynamically adapts the story and virtual environment based on your choices, providing a unique and engaging narrative experience. ✔️ 𝗜𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀: Put on a #VR headset to watch sports from any angle while AI delivers real-time statistics, highlights, and in-depth game analysis. This combination not only enhances your viewing perspective but also deepens your understanding of the sports you love. ✔️ 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴: Gather with friends in virtual spaces to watch TV shows or events together. AI analyzes what you’re watching and generates conversation topics, keeping discussions lively and relevant, even in a virtual setting. ✔️ 𝗔𝗜-𝗘𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗩𝗥 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: Experience VR stories that seamlessly integrate AI-generated deepfake characters, making virtual worlds more realistic and expanding storytelling possibilities for immersive content. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗩?

Last week at Water & Music, we revamped our free newsletter, which will feature a new essay from me every month on the music-tech industry's most pressing issues. My first installment, linked below, is on music AI licensing. Fun fact: Nearly all of our active consulting projects right now are related to music AI. And out of those AI projects, the majority are concerned specifically with the relationship between AI and music rights. While this was not by design, it certainly fits the moment. The music AI licensing landscape is shifting dramatically in real time: Major labels are reportedly discussing settlements with Suno and Udio, while ElevenLabs just launched a fully licensed music model with Kobalt Music, Merlin, and SourceAudio on board. After years of standoffs and litigation, commercial partnership precedents are finally emerging. Yet when we speak with rights holders outside the major label ecosystem about the potential AI licensing opportunity, their response is essentially a giant ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Should I even license? To whom? For how much? For most music rights organizations, these questions about AI's commercial opportunity remain unanswered. And the frameworks being hammered out at the top aren't translating to actionable guidance for everyone else. After months of advising both sides, we've distilled the complexity down to three fundamental questions. Get these right, and the path forward becomes much clearer: 💡 What's the actual use case? (Stem separators vs. Suno = completely different ballgame) 💡 What data do developers really need? (Hint: probably not your entire catalog) 💡 What are the incentives — and how long will they last? (Synthetic data and open-source models are flipping the power dynamic) Full essay in the link below. Would also love to hear what's happening in your corner of the industry: Are you seeing the same dynamics? What other questions are you grappling with around AI licensing? #musicindustry #musictech #musicAI #musicbusiness #musiclicensing

Tyler Perry has decided to halt the planned $800 million expansion of his Atlanta studio, citing concerns over the rapid advancements in AI, particularly OpenAI’s text-to-video tool Sora. This decision reflects his apprehension about the potential impact of AI on the film industry, including the risk of job losses across various sectors, from actors to technical crews. Despite recognizing the utility of AI in filmmaking, such as aging himself in post-production and the possibility of creating sets through text, Perry emphasizes the need for regulations to protect jobs and maintain human involvement in the creative process. His concerns extend beyond the film industry, urging a comprehensive approach involving the entertainment industry, government, and other stakeholders to address the challenges posed by AI advancements. OpenAI’s Sora has sparked discussions about the realism of AI-generated videos and their potential to contribute to misinformation and disinformation. While Sora is only in its beta test phase, it’s clear that we are extremely close (months to a few years) away from AI-based applications that will enable users to simply describe the video they want to see and get usable results. I’m calling this “social production.” Whatever you think social media did to media, that’s what social production will do to production. People with absolutely no training in audio/video production will simply describe what they want to see and hear. AI will do the rest. Tyler Perry is right: the leap from professional production to social production will profoundly impact professional production companies. Consumer tastes will change, distribution will adapt, etc. Pausing this expansion is prescient because B2B AI tools (professional production tools enhanced by AI) are being incorporated into every workflow and process so quickly that it’s impossible to think that existing movie or video production methodologies won’t be radically changed over the next few years. Please note that I’m talking about movie and video production, not film and TV production; if you think of this story in the context of F/TV, you are looking at the future through a lens from the past. #TylerPerry #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #SocialProduction #TV 

AI tools are evolving fast, but how do you actually use them in a professional 3D pipeline? Right now, there isn’t a single AI solution that can take you from concept to production-ready content without intervention and that’s why understanding when and how to use AI is more important than ever. For this scene, I started with an AI-generated image of a stone giant, then turned it into a full 3D character by combining different tools: ✅ Tripo for converting 2D to 3D ✅ Mixamo for rigging & animation ✅ Unreal Engine for world-building and final integration Each tool played a specific role. AI helped me speed up the process, but I was still in control of the design, animation, and final composition. The biggest mistake I see in AI-driven content? Relying on a single AI-generated output without refining it. Right now, the best workflows aren’t “one-click AI,” but a mix of traditional 3D techniques and multiple AI tools with each optimized for a specific task. At Radical Realities, we focus on harnessing AI where it makes sense while keeping the final result cinematic, polished, and free from that ‘AI-generated’ look. 📢 How are you using AI in your creative workflows? Have you found certain tools that blend well with traditional techniques? Let’s compare notes. 👇

AI fashion campaigns were fake. Now they’re the future. A few months ago, Sybille de Saint Louvent started publishing fake AI-generated campaigns for brands like Prada, Jil Sander, and Miu Miu. Now? Gucci has commissioned her to do a real one. When I first spotted her work, I didn’t post about this because it felt like another creative experimenting with AI. But when The Business of Fashion is now covering it in-depth, it’s clear: This isn’t just a trend. This is a turning point for fashion marketing. The fashion industry isn’t just dabbling in AI anymore, it’s embracing it as part of the creative process. What we’re seeing here is bigger than AI tools or aesthetic experiments. It’s a glimpse into the future of creative direction itself: ➡️ AI as a creative sandbox: a place where campaigns can be prototyped before a cent is spent on production. ➡️ AI as a cultural disruptor: anyone (super talented) with vision and prompts can generate visuals that make brands rethink their own image. ➡️ AI as creative hacking where independent creators build entire campaign narratives without waiting for approval, turning personal projects into professional opportunities. The fact that a fake campaign led to a real Gucci brief says everything about where we’re heading. It’s not AI vs. human creativity. It’s AI plus human creativity. A faster, riskier, more expressive way to imagine what fashion could look like. The question for brands in 2025 isn’t if they’ll use AI, it’s how quickly they can build the creative muscles to work with it, not against it. Do you see AI as a creative tool or a creative threat in fashion marketing? Source: Images by Sybille de Saint Louvent, BoF article link in the comments below #AICreativity #FashionMarketing #AIinFashion #CreativeDirection #CulturalIP #FutureOfFashion #AI

Tyler Perry has just validated Hollywood's deepest fears about AI—and this is only the beginning. He's halting an $800 million studio expansion due to the advancements observed from OpenAI's Sora, a hyper-realistic text-to-video model unveiled last week. Perry envisions a future where physical travel and set construction are obsolete, thanks to AI's capabilities. He's already integrating this technology into his projects, using AI for aging effects instead of enduring hours in the makeup chair. This situation presents a paradox. For the business-minded, this technology boosts the bottom line. For the heart-centric creator, it threatens individual livelihoods and the industry that built you. On ethics and regulation, Perry stresses the need for collective action among unions from various industries. I believe a more immediate change will stem from leadership decisions, focusing not only on what's possible but also on what's ethical. Consider the comparison between fast fashion and eco-friendly fashion. One is clearly cheaper, but do we really want to support it when it's unethical, taking advantage of people, and not aligned with our values? No. Addressing AI's role in creative processes will, however, require answering significant questions about the value and necessity of human participation. So, as Hollywood, along with other industries, continues to streamline and reduce costs, it's also a call to action for contractors and 'non-decision makers' to decide on what YOU can control: - Remain inquisitive - Be proactive about learning about disruptive tech including AI - Lean on your community - Prioritize your mental health during uncertain times Where do you stand on this? How are you feeling? Would love to know your thoughts!

Runway's new References feature has completely streamlined my AI filmmaking flow. Here's how my process has changed for the better. 👇 For my earlier AI films, continuity was a constant battle. I’d create a perfect scene with my character and location, but getting them into the next scene meant their clothes would change or accessories wouldn't match. It's why my film 'The Heir' took 3.5 weeks of painstaking image edits back in December 2024. Fast forward to today, and that's all changed. This leap, made possible by Runway References, has allowed my AI production to finally mirror a traditional film shoot. My new flow now has distinct steps: 📸 1. The 'AI Casting Call' I create character headshots and full body shots in Midjourney. This locks in their exact likeness, clothing, and accessories. They become my reference actors. See below for some examples. 📍 2. The 'AI Location Scout' Separately, I generate the specific rooms and environments they will inhabit. ✨ 3. The Magic Moment Using Runway References, I seamlessly place my consistent 'actor' into my scouted 'location'. The accuracy is remarkable and gives me the perfect shot, ready to animate. Plus, I can get multiple angles of the same scene easily within Runway to achieve coverage. Thanks to this massive improvement in character consistency and elements feature, my latest short for the ReplyAI Film Festival, 'Where Leo Went,' was produced in just 4.5 days. It’s the biggest positive change to my workflow in over a year. If you haven’t tried Runway References, do so today. Yes, I still use Midjourney for the initial character and scene shots, because I prefer its aesthetics, but Runway’s references feature is far better than Midjourney’s omnireference IMHO - at least for now. Below are some of the characters that will appear on my next project, where they'll be animated via actors with motion tracking. 👍 Like if you found this useful ♻ Share if your network needs this ➕ Follow for more GenAI filmmaking insights

𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗜𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗘𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵  Here’s How We’re Solving the Gaps in #AIVideo Creation We’ve all heard the hype around AI in content creation: faster videos, lower budgets, endless possibilities. And yes—it’s real. But if you’ve worked with AI video tools long enough, you’ll know this: AI has serious limitations. At Apppl Combine – AI, Marketing & Advertising Agency, we’ve been hands-on with #AIfilms for months now. And while we’ve pulled off amazing campaigns, we’ve also run into things that #AI just can’t handle well. So we didn’t wait for the tools to evolve. We built our own process around them. We call it #AIVideoX. Here are the 6 biggest problems we’ve encountered—and how we’re fixing them: 𝟭. 𝗨𝗻𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 AI characters don’t move like real people. They glitch. They float. They’re awkward. We solve it by layering real movement references, adding manual motion refinement, and using post plugins that bring physics back into the shot. 𝟮. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 AI forgets faces. Your character changes in every frame. We use face-locking tools and custom prompts to ensure continuity across your storyline. 𝟯. 𝗣𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 Need to show packaging, branding, product's finer detailing or a logo? AI will usually mess it up. We merge real #3d #product #renders with #AIgenerated scenes, so your product actually looks like your product. 𝟰. 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 Beautiful individual frames? Yes. Smooth transitions? Nope. We #storyboard flows, define fixed lighting & direction, and use prompt linking for consistent visual storytelling. 𝟱. 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝗽 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗰 𝗚𝗮𝗽𝘀 #AIvoices often sound #robotic, and syncing? Way off. We fine-tune #voiceclones for brand tone and manually #lipsync movement and emotion. 𝟲. 𝗡𝗼 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 AI doesn’t understand India. From wedding rituals to regional expressions, it lacks cultural depth. That’s where our #human #storytellers step in. We bring #emotion, #nuance, and context that tech can’t replicate. 𝗔𝗜𝗩𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼𝗫 isn’t just a #toolset. It’s a #mindset. One where human creativity and AI execution blend to create brand films that are fast, cost-effective, and still feel real. We’ve done this for #FMCG, #fashion, #tech, and #D2C brands—and the results have been phenomenal. Curious to see what your next or #festivecampaign could look like with #AIVideoX? DM me. We’d love to give you a #walkthrough, virtual or in person. #AIAdFilms #AIAdvertising #AIStorytelling #AppplCombine #CreativeTech #MarketingInnovation #AIWithHeart #VideoMarketing #CMOIndia #AIStudio Fox&Angel #marketing #Advertising #Adfilm #TVC #festivemarketing #brandwand Brandwand – Marketing & Advertising Agency Raashi R Daas